The disclosure relates generally to the coupling of optical fibers to light sources and other optical waveguides having different optical properties and more particularly to an optical fiber having an expanded Mode Field Diameter (“MFD”), and a method of expanding the mode field diameter of optical fibers for subsequent coupling to silicon photonic devices.
Silicon photonic (SiP) transceivers are attractive for data center applications because they can potentially offer high data rates and longer distance compared to 850 nm VCSEL systems. A key issue for cost sensitive data center application is to efficiently and inexpensively couple a SiP laser to an optical fiber. Although it is easier to couple a laser into a large core diameter and high numerical aperture multimode fiber, the bandwidth is lower than single-mode or small core fewer mode fibers. Therefore there is a need to develop coupling devices that can couple a SiP laser or similar light sources to single mode fiber with low costs.
Furthermore, as the fiber optic industry has matured, specialty fibers such as dispersion compensating fibers, or fibers with large mode field diameters often need to be coupled to single mode fibers without exhibiting excessive connection losses, or “splice losses” as they are known to those skilled in the photonic light-wave system art. However these specialty fibers have mode field diameters that differ in size and other aspects from the mode field diameters of the single mode fibers or devices to large mode fibers will be coupled or connected. The connection of fibers having such mismatched mode field diameters to one another generally results in excessive splice loss.
No admission is made that any reference cited herein constitutes prior art. Applicant expressly reserves the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinency of any cited documents.